Disclaimer: These characters belong to the creators of Glee; the only one I own is Sophie.
A/N: It's repetition but once again I'd like to thank you for all the reviews/story follows and story favourites. I really appreciate them and I love reading people's reviews. Hope you enjoy and as usual all mistakes are mine.
Chapter 4:
"Shit!"
The swearword was supposed to be uttered under her breath but as the bus drives past her, making sure to drive through the nearby puddle, it slips out of her mouth angrily. The water flies in her direction, splashing her thoroughly and causing her to drop her coffee which she had yet to take a sip of. Closing her eyes tightly, she presses her hand against her forehead and inhales slowly, trying to calm herself down.
Picking up the now empty coffee cup, she bins it and turns around, heading back in the direction of Starbucks rather than work. She desperately needed the caffeine boost, granted she is a bit of a caffeine addict so religiously has a cup of coffee every day on her way to work, but today she needed the kick coffee would give her more than ever. She hadn't managed to sleep much last night after her neighbours decided they would throw a party, one which she wasn't even invited to she may add.
That's the last time she lets them borrow sugar.
Although she can't blame her inability to sleep at the moment completely on her neighbours.
She is finding it impossible to not think about Sophie and Rachel.
It is still a weird concept to her, to call the brunette Rachel when she had been used to Elle. Not that they really talked much but ever since the first night they met, the brunette has been a permanent fixture in Quinn's mind.
It may sound stupid but she's finding it harder than she thought to make the mental shift from Elle to Rachel.
Although that might be due to her unwillingness to accept that the girl she can't stop thinking about is really Sophie's girlfriend.
Rachel does seem to suit the brunette better though.
Even when she did finally get to sleep last night, her alarm clock decided to stop working, resulting in her waking up an hour later than normal.
The sound of her ringtone brings her out of her reverie and she stops walking momentarily to rummage through her handbag. Pulling out the offending article, she glances quickly at the caller ID. Through a mixture of guilt and sense of betrayal towards her friend, she hasn't been able to answer any of Sophie's calls since the Halloween party. When Santana's name flashes on the screen, she hits answer.
"Hello Santana."
"Sylvester's seething Q," Santana informs her. "Where the hell are you? You're already late. I've covered for you but you need to get here quickly. I'm pretty sure Sue doesn't buy my excuse. The longer you take, the less plausibility my excuse has."
Quinn groans at not only the knowledge that she will have to face the wrath of her boss when she finally does make it to work but also due to the heaven's decision to start raining heavily. "Hold on," Quinn says through the phone before resting it between her ear and shoulder, grabbing her umbrella from her bag and opening it. Once under shelter, she grabs the phone again. "I'm not having the best of days S, I just need to get my caffeine boost and I'll be right there."
The silence on the other end of the line causes Quinn to bring the phone away from her ear, just to check she hadn't accidentally disconnected the call.
Finally she hears Santana's voice.
"What? I can barely hear you."
"I'll be there as soon as I can," Quinn shouts her reply this time so Santana can hear over the bustling noise of Manhattan and the traffic speeding past her. The sudden torrential downpour isn't helping matters either.
She hears Santana mumble something in Spanish before hanging up the phone. Quinn throws it back into her bag and quickens her pace towards Starbucks. Pushing open the coffee shop door, she basks at the warmth which overtakes her. After walking outside in the blistering cold and wet, standing inside a cosy coffee shop, which was already partially decorated for Christmas, feels perfect and gives her a brief chance to dry off.
She closes her umbrella and pushes the door shut behind her. Surprisingly there is no queue and when she reaches the counter, Nick, the barista smiles at her and gives her a quick hello. "Back so soon? I know you love our coffee but I didn't realise you loved it this much."
Quinn returns the smile sent her way by the teenager. Due to the fact that she frequents this coffee shop almost every day, Nick knows her order off by heart and sets about making her usual coffee before she stops him quickly. "Just a regular coffee please Nick."
"What? No tall skinny latte with two shots of vanilla syrup?"
"I'm too late to properly enjoy my coffee so regular will have to do. A tall one please."
Nick nods and starts making it. "So you never did tell me why you're back so soon."
"Idiot bus driver thought he'd get his jollies by purposely driving through a puddle and splashing me. The damn shock made me drop my coffee."
"How late are you for work now?"
Quinn glances at the clock hanging on the wall behind him and groans. "Over an hour. It's not my fault my alarm clock chose today of all days to break. Everything seems to be going wrong today."
Nick places the lid on her takeaway cup and rings it up on the till. "Do you want anything else? Usually I find that chocolate always seems to help girls when they're having a bad day. At least, that's what my girlfriend tells me."
"Your girlfriend is rather wise," Quinn replies, stooping down a little so she can peruse the contents behind the glass counter. "Go on then, I'll have one of those please," Quinn states, pointing towards one of the brownies in the corner.
Nick bobs his head with a smile and grabs a brownie from the selection, placing it in a brown bag and resting it besides her takeaway coffee.
"That'll be $6.50 Quinn."
Before she can reach for her purse, a hand reaches in front of her and hands Nick the money. "I'll get this."
Quinn turns at the voice and shakes her head at Sophie. "You don't need to do that, I can get it myself."
Sophie shrugs her shoulders. "Let's call it my treat."
Knowing there's no use arguing with her because once Sophie sets her mind to something, she won't back down, even if it's something as simple buying a cup of coffee and a brownie, Quinn thanks her quietly. She pockets her brownie before heading towards the condiment section. Taking the lid off her cup, she pours two sachets of sugar into her coffee before stirring.
Sophie deposits a wrapper in the bin beside her and rests against the table. "Have you got time for a chat?"
"Not really Soph, I'm already incredibly late as it is."
She places the lid back on her cup and tries to move past Sophie only to have the auburn-haired woman step in her way. "Come on Q, what's wrong?"
"Sophie, I really need to get to work."
Sophie releases a soft sigh before nodding slowly. "Fine, I'll walk with you."
Quinn tries to not let the uneasy feeling that is currently flooding through her show on her face and instead gives her friend a small grin. She takes a sip of her coffee, revelling in the warmth it gives her hands and the back of her throat and heads towards the exit. Once outside, the cold hits her forcefully and she pauses momentarily to grab her hat from her bag before shrugging it on.
At least the rain has stopped for the moment.
They walk in silence for several minutes before Quinn feels compelled to talk. She never experiences awkward silences with Sophie, they've always been able to tell each other everything yet here they are, both walking in silence, both pretending that they're not uncomfortable.
Quinn clears her throat. "Shouldn't you be at work?"
Sophie shakes her head and rubs her hands together. "School is closed due to a burst pipe," Sophie tells her. "But don't try to change the topic. You've been avoiding me since Santana and Brittany's Halloween party. Have I done something to upset you?"
"You haven't done anything," Quinn replies, putting strong emphasis on the word you but Sophie doesn't seem to catch it. "I've just been really busy with work. Obituaries don't write themselves you know."
"So it has nothing to do with Rachel?"
The question is asked so innocently yet it causes shockwaves of worry to spread through Quinn's body. "Why would it have something to do with Rachel?"
"I don't know Q, maybe because I introduced her to you and you haven't spoken to me since," Sophie explains, scratching a non-existent itch on her ear. "Did you not like her or something?
"I don't even know her."
That's not necessarily a lie.
She doesn't know Rachel, she knows what Sophie has told her about the brunette but that's it.
She was just getting to know Elle and if she lied about her name, who knows whether their personalities will differ. The first night they'd met, Rachel had said she should start doing things she wouldn't normally do so maybe Elle is her wild side and Rachel is meek in comparison.
Somehow Quinn doubts it.
"There's an easy solution to that problem," Sophie suggests, stuffing her hands into her pockets trying to give her hands some extra warmth. "Come out with us sometime, it'll give you a chance to properly meet her and get to know her. We could go for dinner or something."
"I'm really busy right now Soph."
She feels Sophie's arm on her wrist, stilling her and spinning her around so they're facing one another. "Stop lying to me Q, what's really wrong?"
I had sex with Rachel the other week.
Eight words, that's all it would be.
Eight words and the truth will be out there.
Eight words and her friend's heart would break.
Quinn rubs her forehead awkwardly and gestures for Sophie to start walking once more. Stopping at traffic lights, the silence still lingers between them and only breaks once they've crossed the road.
"I'm embarrassed."
"What?"
The blonde takes a sip of her coffee with a roll of her eyes. "The first time you introduced her to your best friend and I threw up, not exactly a warm reception. I'm embarrassed about it okay?"
She's surprised and worried at how easy it had been for her to lie.
She's aware of Sophie rubbing soft circles on her back, her hair being pulled over her shoulders to keep it out of the way and Sophie murmuring quietly beside her, constantly asking if she's okay. She's aware that people are walking on the street below, glancing at her curiously before crossing the road so they're safe from any more potential vomit.
She's aware of all of this but the only thing she is focused on is how Elle is really Rachel. Elle is her best friend's girlfriend and she had slept with her.
"Are you okay Q?"
Quinn rests her head against the railing of the balcony and nods her head. "Fine."
"How many of Santana's concoctions did you have?" Sophie asks, her voice laced with concern. "I tried one earlier but it was far too strong for me and you know I can handle my liquor normally."
"A couple," Quinn tells her. "I'm not really sure, I kind of lost count."
"Is she okay?"
The voice is almost enough to make her raise her head and look directly at Rachel but she doesn't think she can look at either woman right now. Rachel, out of slight anger and Sophie, out of sheer guilt.
"Yeah," Sophie answers, running her fingers through Quinn's hair. "Can you go get her a glass of water please babe?"
Unsurprisingly, hearing Sophie use a term of endearment towards Rachel makes her stomach jump through guilt.
She hears a quiet yes in response before the screen door opens and closes. The sudden disappearance of Rachel seems to reduce the invisible tension in the air between the two women.
Out of the corner of her eye she spots Sophie leaning over the balcony slightly. "I hope nobody was underneath you when you hurled," she says worriedly, humour lacing her voice. "That would certainly be eventful and quite hard to apologise for."
Quinn chuckles and presses her cheek against the cold metallic railing, relishing the coolness due the sudden heat that has overtaken her.
"I haven't seen you drunk in a while."
"I'm not drunk," Quinn tells her honestly. "I must have just eaten something earlier."
"It's Santana's Screaming Screwballs."
"That's what she called them?"
Sophie nods her head. "I'm surprised more people haven't thrown up, one sniff of that was enough to make Rachel feel queasy."
"Rachel."
Quinn processes the name and it falls off her lips easily. Sophie glances at her with a quirked eyebrow before stepping away from the balcony. "She's just getting you some water."
Her friend must have thought she was asking the name as a question rather than a statement.
"I don't need water Soph, I'm fine."
"You look really pale Q, so we're going to have to agree to disagree." Sophie rubs her on the back again. "Let's go back inside before you catch your death. Last thing you need right now is a cold."
Quinn pushes herself off the railing and heads towards the screen door, conveniently avoiding her friend's eyes. She pushes the screen door open and steps inside, hearing Sophie close it behind her when she was inside. Quinn glances towards the kitchen to see Rachel struggling to get to the sink, a drunk Santana and Brittany blocking her way as they kissed against it.
Sophie must follow her gaze as she hears a small chuckle escape her friend's lips. "I best go and help her."
"I don't need water S," Quinn states again, this time more adamant. "I think I'm just going to go the bathroom and then head home."
Sophie studies her quickly. "Let us take you home then? Rachel drove us both here. I'm sure she won't mind driving you home."
"It's fine, you two stay and enjoy the party," Quinn replies. "I'll just get a cab."
"Are you sure?"
The other woman doesn't look convinced in the slightest but the last thing Quinn can handle right now is sharing a vehicle with Sophie and Rachel.
She can't sit in a car where silence will undoubtedly fall, broken occasionally only by the sound of the radio or Sophie attempting to make conversation.
No, the thought alone is bad enough.
"Honestly, it's fine. I'd rather be by myself anyway," Quinn says with a bob of her head and bids a quiet goodbye in her friend's direction before dashing towards the bathroom. Once inside, she turns and locks the door behind her before sliding down against it.
This wasn't supposed to happen, not again.
They've been friends for twenty years and they have only had their eye on the same girl once.
Until now.
How is she supposed to deal with the fact that she has had sex with her best friend's girlfriend and ten minutes ago she hadn't been opposed to a repeat? Even after Rachel told her she had a girlfriend, it didn't deter her.
She would have still pursued her.
Obviously, she can't do that now.
A heavy banging on the bathroom door shocks her as somebody desperately tries to open the door on the other side. Quinn watches as the handle is lifted up and down furiously before the slurred speech of Santana hits her.
"I need to pee, why is this door not opening?"
Quinn sighs heavily before unlocking the door, allowing Santana to stumble inside once it opens. She must have been leaning against it in an attempt to remain upright.
"Hey Q, you got the door open." Santana gives her a drunken smile. "Now get out, I need to pee."
The Latina pathetically attempts to push the blonde out of the bathroom, only to nearly slip in her drunken stupor. Quinn leaves the bathroom of her own accord, closing the door behind her. She walks towards the front door, glancing around quickly in the hope of spotting Brittany to thank her for the party and say goodbye but her eyes only fall on Sophie and Rachel.
They seem to be deep in conversation and Quinn wonders for a second if they're arguing. That thought is quickly quashed as Sophie gives her a wide smile and kisses her cheek before heading in the direction of the bathroom.
Quinn doesn't let her gaze waver from the brunette and soon enough, Rachel turns in her direction and their eyes meet.
They stare at each other for several seconds before Quinn feels the need to look away, Rachel's intense stare unnerving her and causing a shiver to run through her at the same time.
The first time she properly saw Rachel, it was her eyes that Quinn was drawn to. There was something about them; Quinn could see that even through the shimmering tears and she knew she wanted to get to know the brunette.
Now, seeing them again, this time wide and apologetic, Quinn knows something else.
She's in trouble.
"You're never embarrassed."
"Well maybe it was your description of her as the perfect girlfriend, the girl who can no wrong," Quinn replies. "Her first impression of me can't have been a very good one."
Sophie links her arm with her friend's and opens her own umbrella as the rain starts to fall once more, shielding them both. "Actually I think she quite likes you."
Quinn whips her head towards her friend. "What makes you say that?"
In the bar, Quinn definitely received the impression that Elle, or rather Rachel, liked her. She thought they had an instant connection and she presumed the brunette felt it too but a week ago at the Halloween party; Rachel had obviously tried her best to deter Quinn.
For reasons that Quinn now fully understands.
"She was wondering what she could do to help and after we dropped you off, she kept asking me if you'd be okay."
"Really?"
Sophie bobs her head. "So you needn't feel embarrassed. Besides, a couple of months ago when we went to one of Rachel's friend's party, I drank far too much. Rachel doesn't drink so she's always alert but I let myself drink more than I should have and she had to look after me. I was in a worse state than you."
"You're never that bad as a drunk though S, you're a happy touchy-feely drunk who laughs at anything."
"Yeah, a touchy-feely drunk who apparently kept trying to playfully grope her girlfriend." Sophie chuckles before rubbing the back of her neck nervously. "I don't think that went down too well with Rachel. But if that doesn't make you feel better, Rachel bore witness to what Santana is like when she's drunk."
Quinn allows herself to laugh loudly. "She didn't start crying did she?"
"Weeping is more appropriate," Sophie explains. "After you left she started crying about how Brittany hadn't wanted to dress as her prisoner before snapping at somebody who tried to push past her to get to the fridge. Next thing we know, they're kissing against the fridge like nothing's wrong."
"Santana drunk is always rather entertaining."
Sophie bumps Quinn's hip lightly, pushing her ever so slightly out of the safeguard of the umbrella. The blonde shrieks quietly before stepping back underneath her protection.
"So now you don't need to be embarrassed, what do you say about dinner one night this week?"
She lets her eyes flutter shut briefly. She's knows it will be pointless to offer up another excuse as Sophie would squash it like she had done with her lie about being embarrassed. Still, she knows exactly how uncomfortable the dinner would be and she would quite like to spare everybody from that situation. As they stop outside Quinn's building, the blonde ducks underneath shelter quickly whilst Sophie stands still, waiting for Quinn's response.
One more excuse can't hurt.
"I don't particularly fancy being the third-wheel to you and your girlfriend."
Okay, that time, not strictly an excuse.
"Well invite Brittany and Santana then."
Quinn laughs at the suggestion. "So I can be the fifth wheel? Yeah that's a much better idea."
Sophie steps forward slightly. "Look, we're not one of those couples people feel awkward about being around because all they do is kiss and act lovey-dovey," Sophie explains. "I promise you won't be a third-wheel."
Somehow, Quinn finds that hard to believe.
She imagines Rachel will not want this dinner to happen any more than she does so perhaps she'll get lucky and Rachel will come up with her own excuses to make sure the dinner doesn't go ahead. She stares at her friend and the look that is being sent back her way silently tells her that no matter what excuses she gives, she's going to end up agreeing.
Releasing a heavy sigh, she gives Sophie a small smile. "I don't think I really have much of a choice. Dinner sounds good."
She'll have to put her faith in Rachel now and pray she's better at persuasion than she is.
The wide smile sent her way makes her realise she's made the right decision in accepting the invitation. At least she's making Sophie happy.
What happened between her and Rachel was a one-off and that's how it's going to stay.
"Brilliant, well I'm supposed to be going round to hers in a bit so I'll let her know," Sophie states, checking the time on her watch. "She's making me watch Funny Girl. It's her favourite film and I've resisted until now but since she came to the Halloween party, even though she didn't really want to, she says I owe her a favour."
"Sounds like fun," Quinn mumbles the words under her breath, too quiet for her friend to hear them. "I really need to go, I'm already so late."
Sophie bobs her head emphatically. "Yeah sorry, have a good day."
Quinn rubs her temples in an attempt to alleviate her stress. She's not been able to concentrate on work all day and hasn't started writing any of the obituaries she was supposed to. It didn't help that as soon as she walked into her department, Santana started berating her in Spanish, at least that's what she assumed was happening, she can only understand the odd word in Spanish, usually words frequently sent in her direction by Santana.
After she passed Santana, Sylvester decided to throw in her two pence as well, stating that there were plenty of people who would love to have her job and she was lucky she hadn't been fired yet. The only reason she was still here, apparently, was because Sue saw something in her that reminded her of a young Sue Sylvester.
Quinn shudders to think what.
Sophie had texted her about an hour ago stating that Rachel had agreed to dinner and could she do Friday night. That was only three days away, she could always feign an illness and say she's not up for a dinner and yet another meet and greet.
Somehow due to her earlier resistance to the idea, she doesn't think Sophie would buy that excuse. Sophie always knew when she was lying, she knew everything about her.
She knows that when her bottom lip quivered she was about to cry, when she furrowed her eyebrows she was confused unless pursed lips joined them in which case she was angry. Sophie knows that Christmas is Quinn's favourite holiday with Valentine's Day being her least favourite, she knows that Quinn thinks Valentine's Day shouldn't even be a holiday; it's just an excuse for shops to sell generic cards and gifts in order to turn a profit.
"Since I covered your ass this morning, you can cover for me tomorrow," Santana tells her as she leans over Quinn's cubicle.
"You didn't cover for me," Quinn explains. "Sylvester knew I was late."
"It's not my fault you were later than you said you were," Santana replies. "You first said you'd be five minutes so I told Sylvester you were at a gynaecologist appointment. Then it changed to 'I'll be there as soon as I can.' It's not my fault you came in over an hour later; you could have gone along with my lie. You could have told her something isn't quite working in that department so you needed extra treatment."
"Next time just say dentist," Quinn says quietly, rubbing her forehead as she stares at her computer screen. "Why do I need to cover for you tomorrow?"
Santana grabs a chair and pulls it beside Quinn. Sitting down she immediately throws her feet onto the blonde's desk leisurely. Quinn smacks them, silently ordering her to remove them but the Latina simply smirks.
"Britt and I are going to taste cakes for the wedding," Santana explains. "I personally don't think I need to be there, I trust Brittany's judgement so I trust she'll pick the right cake. Britt says I have to come with her otherwise I might not like the cake she picks. Despite telling her food is food, I'll like it regardless, she's insistent."
"It's preparation for your wedding S; it's nice for the couple to plan it together."
"I'd be happy with a quickie marriage in Vegas, all I care about is being married to her but Brittany wants the big white wedding so you'll be getting the invite soon. They went to the printers yesterday."
"You've finally set a date?"
"March 24th."
"I think I'm actually having my hair done that day," Quinn jokes and Santana glares at her.
"Oh no Quinnie, if I have to do the big white wedding, you're most definitely wearing a lovely maid of honour dress, that's going to be one part of the wedding preparation I actually enjoy."
Quinn frowns and stares at Santana who winks at her before removing her feet from Quinn's desk and standing. Santana walks away from her cubicle, only to return within a couple of seconds. "You have a visitor."
"What? Who?"
Santana doesn't answer her; she simply waves to somebody that Quinn can't see before she disappears to her own desk.
When nobody appears from the direction Santana had been waving, Quinn shakes her head, presuming it must have been Santana's idea of a joke. Sometimes she never understood her friend's sense of humour.
She brings her attention back to the computer screen, the white page staring back at her. The cursor taunting her, flashing impatiently, waiting for her to start typing.
"Hello."
She may not really know Rachel but her voice is rather unforgettable and Quinn tugs her bottom lip between her teeth at the gentle tone that laces it. She spins around on her chair to see Rachel shuffling on her feet nervously.
Quinn can't help but notice her attire, the knee-high boots, the winter's coat and the adorable ear muffs the brunette is sporting and the corners of her mouth curl upwards.
"Can we talk?"
A/N 2 – I have no idea how much a Starbucks is, I never go in England so I have no chance at estimating the American prices so I guessed. Apologies if it's incorrect.